ROBBERY SUSPECT IN COURT: The 22-year-old man arrested Tuesday afternoon in connection with a robbery hours earlier remains in jail tonight; a judge set his bail at $15,000 during a hearing in a jailhouse courtroom this afternoon. Probable-cause documents say the robbery started as a shoplifting incident; the man allegedly walked out of the Charlestown/California 7-11 without paying for a container of Muscle Milk. A store employee, who told police the suspect is known as a “chronic shoplifter” at that 7-11 and two others, followed him out and confronted him a few blocks away, in the alley on the east side of California/Spokane, telling him to return the beverage. At that point, the employee told police, the suspect pulled out a fixed-blade knife and swung it at him, at which time the employee retreated and the suspect ran away. As we mentioned in Tuesday’s report, a surveillance photo was circulated to police, and about two hours after the incident, Officer Sara Mulloy spotted the suspect walking toward and into the West Seattle PCC; backups were called, and the suspect was arrested.

He’s due back in court Friday. The police report says his “last known address” was in Tukwila but that he is currently “living in his vehicle on the streets in West Seattle.”

SATURDAY BANK ROBBERY: We’ve finally obtained more details on Saturday’s robbery at Umpqua Bank in The Admiral District, the first bank robbery in West Seattle in more than a year. The incident report adds a little more to what we reported Saturday: The robber first came into the bank and said he wanted to open an account but had to wait for his wife. He sat down in the bank’s coffee area and made a call on his cell phone. After all the other customers in the bank were gone, he walked up to a teller and passed a note demanding money. The report says a customer came in and the robber, apparently startled, ran out, and was then seen, as we reported on Saturday, getting into a champagne-colored 4-door car; it was last seen headed southbound on 42nd SW. The robber is described in the report as a Samoan man in his 40s, heavy muscular build, full head of shaggy hair, gray goatee, tattoo on the left side of his neck, white shirt, jeans.

VIDIOT TO EX-BENBOW:Via Facebook, we learn that Vidiot has moved out of its spot in the ex-Shipwreck Tavern, into the ex-Admiral Benbow bar space next door. Not the Benbow (ex-Heartland Café) restaurant space, the proprietors write – just the bar. It’s not mentioned in their post, but a liquor-license application has turned up for what is apparently the now-former Vidiot space, in the name “Parliament Tavern.” That in turn has a FB page started under the classification “Dive Bar.” Vidiot opened at 4210 SW Admiral Way in early 2014.

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)8:04 PM: Big Seattle Fire/Police “heavy rescue” response at Fauntleroy/Juneau – at least one vehicle has crashed; per scanner, everyone is out, and the crash has taken down a streetlight post. More to come.

8:18 PM UPDATE: Just arriving at the crash scene; the overturned car is on northbound Fauntleroy just north of Juneau. Southbound traffic is still getting through, with an officer directing in the street.

8:23 PM UPDATE: Photos added. As it shows, the car flipped just off Fauntleroy, which is about to be reopened in the northbound direction too. We’re told the 25-year-old woman driving the car was taken to Harborview Medical Center.

8:34 PM UPDATE: City Light is on scene, evaluating the downed-pole situation. It’s not clear yet how long the crash scene will remain closed – depends on decisions involving repairs and investigation.

9:49 PM UPDATE: As of a few minutes ago, a tow truck was at the scene and the car had been turned back upright. The plate on the car in our photo was described over police radio as a stolen plate – we’re trying to confirm whether the car itself (which apparently was not the car associated with that plate) was stolen.

3:45 PM THURSDAY: SPD confirms the car was stolen and that the driver is under investigation for DUI. We also have an update on her age: 32.

ORIGINAL REPORT, 4:55 PM: Thanks to Jason for the tip: City files show another restaurant penciled in for the east building of Junction 47. A “site plan” on file for the 42nd SW & SW Alaska corner spot shows Kukai as the “proposed tenant business.” This would be the answer to the hopes of those who have been wishing for a “noodle shop” in West Seattle. Kukai’s regional franchisees – spinning off a chain in Japan – have two other restaurants in Seattle so far, including one that opened on Capitol Hill last spring. (All Kukai locations are listed at the bottom of this menu you can check out online.) We have inquiries out to try to find out more. The first restaurant announced for Junction 47 was The Lodge Sports Grille, as reported here two months ago, also in the east building.

The Perseids Meteor Shower peaks in the pre-dawn hours of August 13th (that’s late tonight/early tomorrow), so let’s focus on the best local spots to watch for them.

My favorite spots in West Seattle have changed a little since I first started suggesting places within the city for viewing the sky. Your first consideration needs to be whether your location of choice is open to the public at night. Most Seattle parks close at 11:30 pm, unless otherwise marked. So that makes stargazing difficult.

Within the city:

1) The Southern (upper) side of Myrtle Reservoir, on SW Myrtle Street between 35th Ave SW and 36th Ave SW.

We’re still working on a followup to Tuesday’s robberies. In the meantime, reader reports on four overnight incidents:

DELRIDGE BURGLARY: We’ve received a few notes today about a 5 am-ish police search at West Ridge Park in the 7900 block of Delridge Way SW. A reader tells the story, and then some:

Tuesday morning at about 530 am, I walked to the recycling bin in our town home complex (Westridge Park Apartments) when we were walking out the door to go to work. I saw this guy come down the hill between the our building and the next building over. He gave me the creeps, so I walked faster back to the car. Our dog started barking from the window overhead. I didn’t reprimand her. I actually said, “good job.” My fiance and I headed to work and debated the whole way about whether we should have called the cops or not.

Tuesday evening our neighbor told us to make sure we lock our doors because he was robbed that morning. A guy just walked in our neighbor’s back door and started taking things. Unplugged his phone next to his bed while he was sleeping. Made several trips in and out before our neighbor’s roommate woke up and gave chase. The robber dropped a good amount of loot but made off with a backpack full.

Today about 5 am we woke up to police in our backyard yelling at some guy in the back yard to “Get on the ground!” Apparently that guy, or his buddy, came back for round two and was on his way out with a new purse. There were 4 or 5 police vehicles in the front and some officers patrolling the back yard. I’m thankful for the SPD today.

EGGING SMASHES WINDOW: This photo and report are from Paula:

At about 4:55 am while my husband was getting for work, he heard a crash and ran into the living room to see a huge hole in our front bay window – it’s bigger than a basketball. Our son heard it as well and came running down stairs then outside to look for the culprit. They both were looking for a rock, but it turned out to be an egg. Our house is old (1911), so it’s single-pane glass, but it still had to be thrown with great force for the egg to travel right through the window, blinds, the living room and into the dining room. Anyone know a good furniture/area rug cleaner? That egg flew everywhere. I reported this to the SPD non-emergency line.

(Neighborhood not mentioned – we’re checking.)

Finally, two car prowls in the Junction vicinity, one to the south, one to the north:

CAR PROWL #1: “My car was prowled last night, 41st and Hudson. Nothing taken, but I filed a police report, called my insurance and credit card companies, just in case the information on my registration or insurance card is used for future ID theft.”

CAR PROWL #2: From Kerry at 40th SW & Oregon: “My 97 Ford Explorer was broken in to in the alley behind my home overnight. WA State Vehicle Registration, insurance card, Skittles and sunglasses stolen. I did file a police report. The vehicle was locked and it looks like they went in through the driver’s side door.”

11:32 AM: Thanks to Darcey for that photo, tweeted from White Center, looking south. She sent it just as thunderstorms are moving through the area. The National Weather Service issued a short-term alert a few minutes ago, saying this is likely to last for the next hour or so.

(Another perspective, from Barb)12:15 PM UPDATE: Rain’s stopped, sun’s out. That was enough rain for puddles on the road, though. Also: Seattle Parks temporarily closed all its outdoor aquatics facilities – Colman Pool included – because of the thunderstorm and lightning danger. We’ll update if we get word they’re open again. Parks says the wading pools will NOT reopen, “because of the time and water it takes to drain and re-fill them.”

1:25 PM: The clouds rolled back in again and we’ve just heard more thunder.

1:49 PM: The first round of rainfall was a pretty decent dousing, says the NWS:

The 0.45 inches of rain between 11 and noon at Sea-Tac is the most rain there in one day since April 13th

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Comments Off on West Seattle Wednesday: Poetry; produce; college; circus; more …

Suddenly, it’s cloudy, gray, and cool here on the peninsula. That might even have been thunder in the distance. So we’re featuring David Hutchinson‘s sunset photo from Monday night, to get a splash of color back into the day. Here are just a few of the options you’ll find on the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar for this afternoon/evening:

LOOKING AHEAD TO COLLEGE? Late summer is when some young people are heading off to college – and others are looking ahead to applying. If you or someone in your household is in the latter category, check out the 4 pm workshop today at High Point Community Center. (6920 34th SW)

‘FOCUS GROUP’ FOR DELRIDGE: Crime/safety/policing concerns/ideas for the Delridge neighborhood? 6-7 pm, it’s your “focus group” with researcher Jennifer Burbridge – backstory in our calendar listing. All who live and/or work in the Delridge area are welcome to be part of the meeting at the Southwest Precinct. (2300 SW Webster)

POETRY AT YOUNGSTOWN:“Poetry. It’s not a word to be taken lightly whether I’m speaking with words that will comfort or I scream out all the things I’ve seen. We’ve seen.” That’s an excerpt from a poem by Angel Gardner, one of the young writers you’ll see and hear at a 6 pm reading presented by the Southwest Youth and Family Services summer writing workshop. At Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. (4408 Delridge Way SW)

(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Welcome to Wednesday. We start with a two-part road-work alert related to ongoing utility projects:

2 UPCOMING PAVING PROJECTS: One rescheduled, one newly announced:

Seattle Public Utilities is continuing sewer improvements at two different sites in the Delridge neighborhood: near Delridge Way SW and SW Orchard Street and on SW Barton Place and SW Barton Street.

As previously announced, SPU’s contractor will grind, pave, and stripe SW Orchard Street. This work is now expected to occur between Thursday, August 13 and Wednesday, August 19. The work will require the closure of the westbound lane on SW Orchard Street (east of Delridge Way SW). The westbound lane will be closed between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. and will be opened to traffic during non-work hours. During the closure, all westbound traffic will be diverted to the eastbound lane with the assistance of a traffic flagger.

In addition, SPU’s contractor will pave 22nd Avenue SW between SW Barton Place and SW Barton Street on August 17-18, from 7:30 a.m. until as late as 6 p.m. This work will require intermittent lane restrictions on SW Barton Place where it intersects 22nd Avenue SW, and on SW Barton Street between 21st Avenue SW and 23rd Avenue SW. During the work, flaggers will be at both sites to maintain two-way traffic.

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand) A crew working for the state Department of Natural Resources is back out on West Seattle beaches this week, cleaning up creosote - a toxic threat you might not even recognize as you walk along beaches strewn with old pilings containing literally tons of the substance lon...